 | Issue: | Europe II 2015 |
| Article no.: | 7 | |
| Topic: | Sharing your brand digitally: how can businesses navigate the legalities of the online world? | |
| Author: | Dr Andreas Palm | |
| Title: | CEO, Mass Hosting | |
| Organisation: | HEG | |
| PDF size: | 411KB |
About author
Dr Andreas Palm, CEO, Mass Hosting, HEG
Dr. Andreas Palm joined HEG in November 2014 as the CEO for the Mass Hosting business unit. Andreas is responsible for the development and strategic alignment of the Mass Hosting business. Andreas joined HEG with a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the business. Previously, Andreas was Chief Sales and Marketing Officer responsible for the hosting business for 1and1.com and prior to this he was working at McKinsey. An economics and politics graduate, he has also completed an MBA.
Article abstract
Having the right brand is important for any business, particularly online. Brands need to tell a story and make it easy for customers to understand what the company does. Once the brand is established, it’s important to control how the business is seen online. This should involve regularly searching for the business to see what links appear and what they actually link through to.
Full Article
Creating an online presence can sometimes feel like a minefield, especially if you are new to the internet. There are often many different hoops to jump through both from a legal and a brand perspective. To make it easier for businesses about to take the plunge, here are the key things to think about as you build your online presence:
Make sure it’s legal
Checking all necessary legal requirements can be time consuming but this is obviously one of the most important processes to get right – particularly as adherence to such requirements will only serve to ensure that the business is more appealing to prospective customers. Here are two of the most important requirements that must be followed:
1. Identify yourself to your customers
While this may seem like an obvious statement, it’s also a legal requirement for any business to disclose its identity to its customers. Doing this shows which businesses are legitimate and which are not, subsequently driving customers to the site. As a minimum, you need to show the following information:
• Company identity: The meaning of this can vary depending on the size of the company. For sole traders, it simply means the owner’s full name, while for large companies it requires the registered name. Regardless of the size of the business, it’s vital to think about the relevant identification that the customer needs to see.
• Contact details: For any business that wants to succeed, making contact details publicly available is a must – not only to deal with any potential complaint, but also so that customers can get in touch and purchase products and services.
• VAT number: If the company has one, the VAT number needs to be readily available. This will affect most companies, excluding micro-businesses and sole traders, with an annual turnover of over £81,000.
• Authorisation bodies: If the company is subject to authorisation, for example from the Financial Conduct Authority, it must state as such. There will likely be extra requirements depending on the authorisation body, which must be included on the site as well.
2. Protect the data
Online privacy has become a hot topic over the past three years with new regulations, like the Right to be Forgotten ruling being introduced. Additionally, there are two major pieces of data protection and privacy legislation in the UK; the Data Protection Act and the Privacy, and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECRs). Data can be (and is) collected to varying extents online, but these laws enforce strict restrictions on what can be used, displayed, sold and kept safe.
Therefore, a highly detailed privacy policy is required to inform the customer of exactly what will be done with their data, both internally and externally with third parties. This gives the customer the opportunity to either opt out or choose not to continue on the site. One such example is the use of cookies. These are small pieces of data used to track the user’s movements, as they traverse the internet, allowing advertisers to target people more effectively. Used well, cookies can be indispensable, but the abuse of these datasets has led to the introduction of the e-Privacy Directive or Cookie law, making it a legal requirement for all online sites that use cookies to explicitly give visitors the choice to stay and be tracked or leave the site.
But conforming to these and other laws not mentioned here isn’t enough. Online businesses must ensure that they continue to stay up-to-date with any legislative changes. To do this, it may be worth signing up to a site like Trusted Shops, which will update users on any legal changes that are relevant to the business and help owners to implement any necessary changes.
Don’t just be legal, be noticeable
Simply conforming to legal requirements isn’t going to automatically mean the site will attract traffic and sales. Running a successful search engine optimisation programme can make a big difference. But it’s no longer a case of simply planning for traffic from a computer. Achieving that ‘page one spot’ now requires more and more preparation and it’s constantly changing. Below are four changes that are happening right now, changes that businesses need to think about as they plan their search strategies:
1. Mobile is becoming the dominant channel.
Research from The Office of National Statistics showed that 68 per cent of users accessed the internet via their mobile devices in 2014. Businesses need to make sure they have a mobile-friendly site that’s visible; otherwise they could see themselves losing out to competition.
2. Small businesses need to be local.
There is a growing trend, particularly amongst consumers, to shop locally, and this is an opportunity for local small businesses to capitalise on. There are a number of ways to do this, for example using local domains like .london to highlight the locality. It’s also important to include the physical address with an address tag, which will make the site searchable on the likes of Google Maps.
3. SEO used to be a purely technical function, but is now about relationships.
As the numbers accessing and engaging with businesses online grows, so has the need to become relationship-based. Building brand ambassadors is vital for driving traffic to sites. Using social media effectively is a good way of building such relationships through a give and take relationship, bringing people back time and time again.
4. SEO is no longer just about including as many back-links as possible.
Companies need to think about what their audience actually wants to see. Do they want local content/information or do they want to see their favourite celebrity engaging with a brand. This isn’t necessarily going to be a one-size-fits-all case, but businesses need to be thinking about how they can incorporate SEO with their other marketing tools, rather than as a completely separate department or agency.
A website is nothing without a brand
Having the right brand is important for any business, particularly online. Brands need to tell a story and make it easy for customers to understand what the company does. Once the brand is established, it’s important to control how the business is seen online. This should involve regularly searching for the business to see what links appear and what they actually link through to.
A further benefit of conducting a regular search is to pick up any potential copyright issues at an early stage. Proving copyright is sometimes a difficult and expensive process. Regular searches can save time in the long term as it may be easier to reach an agreement, before a potentially conflicting brand is established.
Whilst there are a number of steps to go through when taking a business online, it opens up huge opportunities to reach out to a wider audience. These are only a sample of some of the processes needed to ensure a successful website that’s legal, in front of potential visitors and appealing.
